Members of the armed forces arrived at the Buncefield oil depot in Hemel Hempstead as the military was drafted in to deliver fuel to petrol stations. Soldiers in uniform and wearing face masks were spotted walking near the gates to the Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal.
Britain's supply chains for everything from pork, petrol and poultry to medicines and milk have been strained to breaking point by shortages of labour in the wake of a double-whammy of Brexit and Covid-19 crises.
Panic buying of fuel amid the shortage of truckers triggered chaotic scenes across the UK last week, with long queues of drivers flooding areas around petrol stations. Some customers resorted to fist fights over the pumps and threatening queue jumpers with knives, while others hoarded as much fuel as they could carry in old water bottles.
Reuters reporters wrote of seeing at least two dozen petrol stations still closed due to having no fuel available across London and southern...